Adam Douglass Life the Universe and the 420 Centre
The 420 Project is the biggest collaborative arts project of its kind to go to exhibition in Dunedin - and its not just the size that matters. The 420 Project has brought together over 200 artists - just under half of whom experience mental illness - for this group the project has not only been a vehicle for recovery but also a means of breaking barriers and connecting with the wider Dunedin community.
In just 7 months, the group have created 2x 360 degree murals to be installed at the Blue Oyster. The 420 Centre - an activities based centre for people recovering from mental illness, has severed as the base for the huge undertaking and the patrons of the centre have formed the core group of participating artists. Every Tuesday since December 2006 the centre has played host to art sessions coordinated and run by artist and mental health worker Adam Douglass.
"I'm interested in the Artists role in society, status, as art therapy, art as language and a vehicle to develop dialogue. Art as an aesthetic experience, perception and the creative process. Within this project I hope to bring a range of artists together from different disciplines, who have different objectives, different status, different mental states, hender, sexualities, a rnage of epople basically. I want to document a social consciousness, and in the process eliminate some stigma, develop a dialogue in the community and to create a platform for recovery." - Adam Douglass
